We’ve Only Just Begun

I am feeling compelled to write in this moment so I decided that I shouldn't fight it. I feel like I have evolved a tremendous amount in the past few years. I had a vision that my life would have gone way differently than it has since I've been in California. I came out here expecting to hit it off like Vince from Entourage. If you are not familiar with that, he came out and became a big actor with a lot of money and having sex with lots of beautiful women. It hasn't exactly played out like that.

As I expressed in a previous article, I became homeless for a brief period in Los Angeles. I've come out that circumstance and I am now living on my own in a studio and the team is ok. I sincerely appreciate that those things are now the case. I took a second a little while before I started writing to appreciate that I am alive. We don't do that enough as humans. I appreciate all the true friends that have emerged from my challenging circumstances. My core is stronger and I feel like I am at a point where I am really starting to understand more about life as a result of this.

I've learned the power of my presence. We are all interconnected and I am robbing the world by not sharing my art with them. I've learned what it means to love someone unconditionally, including myself. It's no longer about letting my ego or my fear get in the way of my art and my personal advancement. I am realizing that it doesn't matter what is going on around you but where your own internal state is. You are completely responsible for your life and unhappiness inevitably comes when allow some external circumstance or person have control over your life. That's your job.

I am now at a point where I am still facing serious financial challenges but I am determined to turn that around completely and permanently. I started this website because I love to write, not necessarily because I wanted to be a boss or run a business but here we are. This is what I want to do so I have to do the things that will be necessary to make it a reality including educating myself about the ins and outs of leadership and business ownership. HMJ may not be the be all/end all but it is a conduit to me fulfilling my mission in this lifetime. At this point I want to use it as a platform to inspire people. I am not afraid to take on that mission and have fun and grow in the process.

I love sports. Watching the growth and maturation of young men in competition is exciting and dramatic and there are lots of lessons to be learned from it. At the end of the day, the competition is only against themselves. I am highly anticipating the world cup in a few weeks. I watched ESPN's "30 for 30" on the United States soccer football team's march to Brazil. These guys dropped some amazing gems. Here are some of the quotes I found pretty moving:

"Winning is a habit. You can't flick it on and off like a light switch. You can't expect to win against ghana and then go through motions in these games. You need to have a winning mentality." - Tim Howard on games leading up to the cup

"When something is not going well, if you are able to look at yourself honestly and what you are giving to the cause then you don't have anything bad to feel but if you feel like you could have given more then thats when the conscious comes in" - Jozy Altidore

"If we lose 3 games at the world cup my job will probably be done. You are measured by your success and results and that is how it should be. You have to live with that fact and you have to face it. Its part of your job. Nothing is guaranteed or set in stone" - Jurgen Klinsman

"You want to be proud of their past but that doesn't give you anything for tomorrow. If you are not fit enough, not sharp enough, not alert enough or you don't have the right mentality then you are going to lose tomorrow and you are just on the way down. No ones place is set in stone because of what you have done in the past. You have to prove it every day" -Klinsman

"All I've tried to do is leave everything out on the field every time I play. As you get older you realize just doing that and worrying about yourself isn't enough. You have to find the right ways to lead." - Michael Bradley

"Teams that are willing to suffer are going to be the teams that will be the most successful" -Michael Bradley

If you want to check it out for yourself, the full playlist of the episodes is below.

Thats all I have for now guys. I am determined to win in my life and be an inspiration through my writing. Not sure how that is going to play out yet but it is. I know it.